How do parents get their kids to eat spicy foods?

[keety]

So for starters I am pregnant due in May with our first, I was raised in a very white family and spicy foods were all but forbidden! Me and my dad snuck them in and eventually my mom just accepted it, but we had to give a verbal warning before any meal that included anything spicy so that the rest of the family would know which dishes to avoid.

I have spoken with other families (mostly Asian and Mexican) and they all said that they grew up on spicy foods, and their kids all eat spicy foods, including jalapeños, Cayenne, and Habaneros. I just can’t wrap my head around it! But me and my husband both eat spicy and I’m honestly kind of dreading cutting out spicy foods once our baby starts eating big foods. So how do y’all do it?! Is the kid immune because that’s what you fed them in the womb? Do you just serve it until they start eating it? Is it introduced slowly? I’m just so CONFUSED! Some close friends of mine are from Mexico, their 4 year old is eating jalapeños!! Jalapeños don’t bother me but if you stuck them on my 6 year old sisters plate she’d cry!

 

[deehive]

@keety A older kid always gives a younger kid a spicy chip and it takes off from there

 

[keety]

@deehive Oooh…yea…I’ve seen that happen with spicy Cheetos! Makes sense!

 

[discipleofchrist1]

@keety Food was on the table. If the adults ate something spicy, we were allowed to try it. My sister and I were big on salsa and chips.

My son will occasionally eat something spicy but doesn't prefer it. My nephew has been obsessed with flaming hot cheetos since he was 4.

Each kid will come to their own likes and dislikes even when all were offered the same foods.

 

[keety]

@discipleofchrist1 Thank you for this response! I wasn’t sure how to introduce spicy foods since they were seen as “bad” growing up! They were avoided on purpose, my mom wouldn’t even let us have salsa at Mexican restaurants when we went out to eat! I don’t want to avoid spicy foods altogether, but I I wasn’t sure on how to go about an introduction process

 

[mmsyther]

@keety Also a good idea to make sure there's milk and/or something starchy (like rice) nearby when introducing a spicy food to help with the residual spice. Water can just make it worse, so not great if you're trying to get them used to it. Start low spice and scale up incrementally of they like it.

 

[jayy18]

@keety Early solid foods are not spicy hot at all. Make your own adult food without spice, remove as many portions as you want for the little one, add spice to the big pot for the adults and let it finish cooking to mellow and disseminate the adult’s heat.

As little one gets much better at solid food skills and is taking in a wide variety of solid food, continue removing kid portions from the pot, but start add a very tiny bit of the adult spicy version to the little one’s portion. Mix well so they don’t get a bite of just hot. Go from there advancing the amount of spicy you add from the adult portion based on how well the child accepts it.

Make sure there is something in the table that the child can eat to soak up the oil that was in a bite that was too hot. Rice, any kind of bread, whole fat milk.

Remember that kids refuse food, even food they have accepted long term, for mystifying reasons. Spicy heat might be one of them. Or not. The joy is in the mystery. /s

 

[yytg12]

@keety That's interesting. I wonder why she forbade spicy foods. Did she give reasons?

 

[keety]

@yytg12 She’s the type of person who can’t handle black pepper, it burns her mouth, she didn’t want it to burn us so she kept us away from it

 

[yytg12]

@keety Ah. Maybe she has an allergy to pepper and hot peppers. Some people do but don't realize it. For instance the kaki fruit to me feels like it's got dry hair on it (like the outside of a kiwi fruit if you were to lick that).

 

[oldsaint]

@keety So I’m as white as they come and my husband is mostly white (partially Roma), but we both love us some spicy food. Our son is 2 (27 months) and we always offer him whatever spicy foods we are having. Sometimes he eats it and sometimes he doesn’t - that’s life with a toddler! But I can say I have a toddler who loves Indian curries, spicy tacos and spicy tuna sushi so it’s pretty cool. If you frame it as “this is what we’re having for dinner and it’s totally normal” then your kids will eat it as well. Just offer everything to your kids!

 

[xitosunwin]

@oldsaint Depends, I couldn't handle spice as a kid and wouldn't eat if handed just spicy food.

 

[summerfed]

@keety When I was pregnant people would always warn me that you can't eat Mexican/Chinese/Indian (fill in anything with spices) while pregnant. I had to remind them that entire countries ate Chinese food all the time! The flavor will transfer in the uterus to a certain extent, and also in breast milk if you go that route. Getting them used to spices is a great start, but kids have their own preferences and aren't shy about letting you know what they are.
Congratulations and good luck!

 

[shedrach90]

@summerfed As a Hispanic woman I'm in shock that people say that. Thank you for reminding them that there are entire nations who live differently from them and can still be regular, healthy people.

 

[hala401]

@shedrach90 Look, you should have some grace for others. There are people in Minnesota who think ketchup is too spicy.

 

[summerfed]

@hala401 Lol, I'm in Wisconsin and sharp cheddar is for rebels.

 

[akguy]

@summerfed I ate salsa everyday when I was pregnant because I was worried about not being able to eat salsa while breastfeeding. I wanted her to enjoy spice as a fetus.

 

[keety]

@summerfed my husband nearly lost his mind the first time I ordered extra Jalapeños at a Mexican restaurant after we found out I was pregnant! I had to remind him of this fact as well!

 

[abraham7777]

@keety I’m South Asian and present spiced, flavorful options to my 20mo child daily and have done so since he started purées….and he basically only eats crackers and apples.

There’s no way to predict it. Just keep presenting options and don’t force it.

 

[keety]

@abraham7777 at least he’s eating healthy!!! my mom avoided anything with any kind of spice! So I wasn’t sure how to introduce them! What kind are you adding to the purées if you don’t mind me asking?